When Macy Misa Is The One
by Mrs.President
Summary: Nacy. Something is haunting Macy, something is abusing Macy, something is causing her to push her friend away, and deny love. It's taken her sleep, and her happiness. It refuses to leave her alone, and no one believes her... except Nick.
1. Chapter 1

"When's the last time you slept?"

She drew in a shaky breath and shifted uneasily in the chair, it groaned slightly under her light weight. She bit her slip and looked out the window; seeing a crow fly from the bare October tree, into the gray sky.

"Four days ago." Her voice was small and nervous.

"Is that because, of this man you see in your dreams?"

"….yes."

"What's his name?"

A moment pause, nothing but silence, "….. I don't know."

"What does he look like?" The therapist tapped the end of his pen on his clip board, and she looked down at her hands that rested in her lap.

She didn't have an answer, so she stayed quiet.

"When did you first see him?"

She didn't want to say anymore, "Look." She said sternly, though her voice was shaking, "I'm not crazy."

He wrote something down on his paper and she felt her stomach churn. The only reason she agreed to be here was because her parents were worried about her.

"Of course you aren't Macy, no one thinks you are." He spoke in a calm voice that irritated Macy right threw to her core.

But instead of arguing, she looked back out the window.

"About a year ago…" She finally confessed, a year ago was when her life was changed. It was when she first meet the Lucas brothers, and when the nightmares started.

She never recalled the night mares being as regular and vivid as this one.

"How did you get those scratches and cuts on your arms?"

Absentmindedly, she tugged her sleeve down and wrapped it around her thumb. She couldn't find her voice to answer at first, "… He did them."

He began writing again. The sound of his pen scratching against the paper made her grimace. She didn't want all this attention, she knew they would think she was insane. If she were them, she would probably think the same thing too.

The man pulled out a folder, and in the folder were photographs that he laid orderly in front of Macy on his desk. She couldn't keep her eyes off of them as she aborted the images before her. They were of her body, where the marks had been. The ones along her arms, and on her thighs and down her legs. On her shoulder blades, and back.

The therapist leaned forward a little bit, and Macy leaned back; tears in her eyes for her loss of words. She knew all the marks were there, but they were unexplainable. All the scratches came together and made random letters.

"What did you use Macy?" He asked, his question darted threw the air sharply.

Macy looked up, her face twisted with confusion, "What?" She shot back.

"What did you use to make these marks?"

She was bewildered, "You think I did them?" She couldn't believe it, did everyone think that? Her mouth kept trying to form words, but failed. He didn't answer, but instead waited patiently for her to give him an answer. She stood up, and stormed out of the office. As she slammed the door the tears finally left her eyes, and she wiped them away quickly.

They thought she was crazy…

"Shut up." She whispered to herself, she couldn't let herself think so heavily about what other people thought of her.

Right now she just needed to focus on her walk home. She walked straight out of the old building into the October air. Her eyes narrowed at all the Halloween decorations, she never liked Halloween, it always put her on the edge and made her jumpy.

She entered her house, and tossed her backpack on the floor, "I'm home." She called, and received no reply. "You guys sure care don't you?" She asked the absence of her parents, "I went to the stupid therapist and you guys aren't even here." She grabbed the milk from the fridge, and poured herself a glass. She looked at the bottom of her empty glass, that feeling of being alone washing over her.

When she finished the glass of milk, she watched the droplets of milk form into a circle, then the face of the shadow man. She screamed and dropped the glass.

"Macy!" Stella gasped, and Macy snapped her head up, finding Stella in the kitchen door way.

No matter how hard Macy had been trying to keep her friends out of this sudden mess of her emotions, and mental state.

Stella dropped her bag and rushed over to the trembling Macy; Macy knew she had been caught, she was barely able to hide the terror she'd been feeling. The stylist placed her hands firmly on Macy's shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Macy, calm down sweetie." She commanded calmly, and the warmth of her brown eyes made Macy's breath start coming in at a lower and more normal pace; being Macy best friend since fourth grade, she had dealt with her panic attacks, and she had noted they were getting worse and worse lately.

The athlete took in a few deep breaths, and Stella helped her slowly sit down on the tilted floor, trying to remain calm. She pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her forehead on them.

After a few moments of needed silence, Stella finally spoke up, "Mace…" She rubbed her should, "You need to tell me what's going on with you lately…" It was a plea more than anything.

Macy's hand gather into fists as she debated weather or not, what the right thing was. Would it be right to drag Stella into her freshly messed up world, or was it better to keep her in the dark?

The silence was making Stella grow more tense, "Macy?"

Macy slowly took in a deep breath and finally looked up, and looked into the eyes of a slightly relieves pair of Stella's eyes.

"I'll be fine." The lie would have been convincible, if it weren't for the betrayal of her own voice; it sounded weakened somehow, something only Stella was able to hear, even if said to a large group.

"Macy, stop keeping me in the dark. I know something's going on." Stella tried again, and Macy looked away, "Don't you trust me anymore?… we're best friend."

The silence from Macy was breaking Stella's heart.

".. I know we are Stella. But this…" Macy finally made eye contact, and the impact was more powerful than Stella expected, "This is something I have to face on my own."

Though she didn't want to, Stella knew she had to accept it. She had no other choice to trust and believe in Macy. She nodded, "All right…" Then she moved over to hug Macy.

Stella stayed with Macy for a while longer, until she felt she was okay to be left alone.

There was a crash of a plate in the kitchen, starling Stella from her sleep with a jolt. Her heart was pounded as she tried to figure out where the noise cam from in her tired state. The stove light shone from the kitchen into the den, and then she eyes went to Macy, who was fast asleep on the other side of the couch. She rubbed her eyes, to try and wake herself up. She had no idea when she fell asleep, but the TV was on, but on mute. She glanced at the clock was she stretched and slipped the blanket off of her, then gasping at the fact it was 3 am.

"Macy." She said groggily, shaking Macy's foot that was on the couch, "Macy I have to head home."

Macy barely muttered something inaudible as she readjusted herself, obviously still asleep.

"Ma-" Stella stopped in mid sentence, when out of the corner of her eye he could have swore she saw a shadow dart by the doorway to the kitchen. She looked that way, praying to God to was just imagining things.

She scooted off the couch, and slowly, cautiously stood up. She eyed Macy again, and she was fast asleep. Stella faced the entrée way of the kitchen, her heart still pounding, and she jumped when she shadow went past again.

"H-hello? Ms. Misa?" Stella called out, uncertain.

The shadow stopped, and Stella forced herself to take a step forward.

"It's me, Stella." She walked towards the kitchen, eyes glued to the shadow, slightly leaning to and fro.

She held her breath as she finally came to the door, and the shadow scurried suddenly, making Stella jumped back, and the sound of more plates crashed to the ground. The fear was running threw her veins as she finally mustered the courage to peak around the corner, expecting to see a stranger, feeling suddenly protective of Macy. Except, the kitchen was empty, only a few plates broken on the floor by the sink. Then she felt something grab her shoulder and she shrieked.

"Stella!" Macy gasped, irritable due to her tired state, but also frightened because she fell asleep and leaving Stella alone in her house, awake.

"M-m-macy. There's something in your house. I saw.. I saw their's shadow." Stella stammered, then grabbed Macy's wrist, "We need to get out."

"No." Macy yanked her hand from Stella's grip and took a step back, "Stella, I think you should go home now." There was no eye contact as Macy stared at the floor, the tone was not like Macy at all.

"Macy?" Stella was hurt by it, "Macy, I can't leave you in this house." She gained her authority protection again, "There's someone he-"

"No there isn't." Macy cut her off sharply, disarming Stella's guard. "Stella, leave my house."

Stella's eye soften immediately, "But Macy.. I saw."

"We have a cat. That's what you saw." Macy answered, again no eye contact.

None of it made sense to Stella, and she just stood there, silently waiting for Macy to snap out of it. "M-"

"Leave Stella Malone." Macy looked back up, her eyes hard and cold.

Instead of asking questions, Stella went for the front door, "Something's gotten into you Macy." Stella spoke over her shoulder as she put on her jacket, "And you better straighten yourself out. Everyone's getting pretty sick of this…. Whatever you've become." Then the door slammed shut, and Macy flinched.

She was now alone in the house with.. It. She couldn't take it anymore, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as the tears finally spilled. She wouldn't give it what it wanted, and it wanted to see her break, it wanted her to communicate with it…. But then after all, what more could it take from her? She was forced to push her friend away, it stole her appetite, took her sleep and dreams away, it was taking her life away.

"Are you happy?" She tried to keep her voice calm, though it was shaking with rage, "Everyone think I'm nuts."

There was no reply, half of what she expected. The cuts on her shoulders started to sting slightly, like something dipped their finger in salt and was just barely grazing over the torn flesh. She grimaced and tried to move away, only to be tripped on what appeared to be air. Her chin hit the floor, a jagged piece of wood.

She wouldn't cry, or even make a sound because she thought that's what it wanted…


	2. Chapter 2 voices

**Wow, thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites and alerts, you guys are the best. I was worried when I wrote it because it was nearly three in the morning. I always appreciate constructive criticism. It helps me grow, and inspires me. Anyways, here's chapter two, enjoy. **

Stella shook her head, "No, Nick, I know she doesn't have a cat." She sat at the bottom of her steps, absentmindedly biting her fingernails; her heart heavy and hurting as she held the phone to her ear. She had called the Lucas house for Joe, but he was gone, and she knew Nick was a good listener. "I just know something's wrong, but she won't tell me. I know she's always been stubborn and independent, but this is different… she's taken it to extremes." She looked down and fixed her skirt as she listened to Nick's reply, then she bit her lip, "But I know her parents are out of town and Nick, I _saw_ the shadow of someone."

"Stella, are you completely certain? I mean, it was three in the morning and you had just woken up." Nick tried to compromise.

She sighed, knowing Nick was only trying to be reasonable. She remained quiet for a moment, knowing Nick's argument was more plausible than someone, or something inside Macy's house. "Yeah.." She breathed, "Yeah you're probably right."

"Now, get back to sleep all right Stel?" Nick sounded relieved and very tired.

She laughed lightly, "I have to start getting ready for school, but thanks for answering my phone call."

She heard him laugh tiredly, "Well you only called five times at four in the morning."

"I'm really sorry for waking you, I just needed to talk to someone about it." She apologized, standing up, and already making her way to the coffee maker with already made coffee.

"It's fine, I'm always here to talk, I'll see you at school.'

"Bye Nick." Stella released another sigh as she sat down at the breakfast bar, and sipped her coffee already knowing the day was going to be long with so little sleep. She groaned and rubbed her eyes and decided to start getting ready.

Nick laid back in his bed, being willing to fall back to sleep, but the concern of Macy over willed the power of sleep. She used to text him whenever she had a nightmare, and he'd want to hear all about it, and he usually did. He noted the night mares had been getting worse and Macy was getting more and more reluctant to tell the details, until she quit texting him altogether. He admitted to her that he was worried, but she brushed it off casually with a smile Nick would die for. As the weeks progressed, he was seeing changes in her. She had gotten a paler completion and bags under her eyes, and her smile seemed more generic somehow, but every time he asked about it, she's brush it off. Nick was worried about her.

He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the morning, so he sat up. His brothers were still fast asleep, and his house was dead silent. Slowly he got up, and looked at his phone. 4:50 am, his brothers would be up in a little over and hour and a half. He half considered texting Macy and making sure she was okay, but would she be honest? Or give him another pretty little lie?

"…love her…"

A small scream left his throat and jumped from his bed, as soon as he felt the hot whisper on his neck. He whipped around with his heart pounding, and breath quickened; only to discover in the dim lighting of the awakening sun, that there was nothing seen there. My eyes scanned the room for movement, because he was more than sure he heard something. But the only movement seen was Joe turning over in his sleep; muttering incoherently. He wiped his neck off, where he still felt the where the breath was, and he stopped when his hand grew damp. He examined his fingers closely, and wiped his neck off again, something was _breathing_ on him. He looked around the room again, but saw nothing. Confusion over wrapped his brain and he looked back at his bed, and he swore he left the green pillow at his feet when he got up just a few minutes ago, and the draw on his night stand was slightly ajar. He looked around before slowly approaching it, and pulling it open a little more ways. The picture of Macy, Stella, him and his brothers was on top of the stack of papers, and he knew for a fact he kept it below the papers. He pick it up, smiling fondly of the picture of the friends at the beach. Macy was on the left end with an arm wrapped around Nick, smiling brightly, and it hit Nick of how much he truly missed that smile. Then he noticed the edges appeared to be burnt, black and curled in slightly, only on the left side. He stared at it, his eyebrows pulling together, how did the picture end up like that?

He sighed as he dropped the picture back into the draw and closed it. He was way to tired to come up with a reasonable conclusion. He stretched, and walked down the stairs into the kitchen, and started to get ready.

—

"Hey Stella." Kevin greeted as he got to his locker with his brothers in tow.

She smiled as they approached her, and she straightened her posture from leaning on their lockers and before she could answer Joe greeted her.

"Hi Stella." He smiled his perfect smile.

She was for a moment breathless, "Hi Joe.." She smiled and looked dreamily into his eyes.

Until Nick cleared his throat, and knocked her out of Joe's eyes, "And Kevin and Nick." She acted like she was going to include them, avoiding eye contact and looking away.

Nick and Kevin smirked, knowing she was putting up the 'Joe and I only like each other as friends' act. The two brothers went for their lockers, and decided to not say anything for once.

"Hey, where's Macy? She's usually here before us." Joe asked, reluctantly making distance between him and Stella to get to his locker.

Nick and Stella exchanged brief glances.

"Uh, I'm not sure. We were up late last night, so she's just probably running a little late." Stella explained quickly, then gulped, she was never one to lie to quickly well. If it were absolutely necessary to lie, they were usually premeditated.

Nick tried to act normal, and grabbing his books normally but the worry was heavy in his heart, and weighing him down.

"Oh rebels." Kevin pretended to be impressed, "Did you guys stay up to watch 'Scream Until You Die Screaming'?" He turned from his locker with a smirk and books in hand.

Stella rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms "Like I would watch anything with that horrible, disgusting witch of an actor." She snapped bitterly.

Kevin snorted, indirectly pointing out the obvious left over jealousy of Fiona Sky incident; but Nick wasn't paying attention, instead he was thinking as he absentmindedly grabbed one of his song books before anything else, lost in his thoughts.

"Nick?" Joe called, gaining Nick's attention.

He looked up, "Yeah? Sorry, I was just.. Thinking."

"Dude, what's up?" Joe's concern was visible all over his face, "You've been distracted all morning."

Nick looked down as he opened his book, "I just keep thinking of a song, and I can't quit figure it out." He didn't want to worry his brothers, or make Stella think any more on what she already had.

"Is it about Macy?" Kevin asked slyly, this eyebrow raised.

The intense Lucas brother sighed irritably, and Stella pretended to not know what he was thinking about, but her nervous habit of looking down and biting her lip told him everything.

He didn't answer Kevin, "I'm going to class. I need to talk to Mr. Costelle about an assignment." And with that he left the group to themselves.

"And what's gotten into him lately?" Joe asked, slightly annoyed by Nick's unusual quietness.

Nick felt relieved to be alone with his thoughts, which were so easy to get lost in these days. He was wondering were Macy was, until he turned a corner and ran into someone. She gasped, and nearly screamed.

Nick's eyes widen, "Macy!"

She bite her lip and with her eyes cast downward nervously, but Nick spotted the bandage on her chin.

"Macy, what happened?" He asked, he had hold himself back from gathering her in his arms, but the way she held herself seemed like she was in pain.

She looked up into his eyes, and he noticed the change immediately. Her eyes had this hard look, cold and distant. She tried to smile, but it was nothing like the Nick he had seem this morning.

"I tripped this morning, putting my shoe on, I hit my chin on the counter." She lied, and Nick knew it. She laughed at herself.

He didn't, and she tried her hardest not to notice as she looked away and across the atrium she meets eyes directly with Stella's, and quickly looked away, suddenly finding it harder to breath.

"Macy…" Nick sighed, stepping closer to her, and she took a step back matching his; almost like she was.. Afraid to get to close to him, and it hurt him deep.

She knew it was best to keep them out, "I'm sorry Nick." She didn't even look at him as she spoke and walked away.

Nick just stood there for a moment, stunned and in pain. He turned to look over his shoulder, watching her walk away with a slight limp. Then shook his head and continued to class.

Stella frowned as she watched Nick watch solemnly to class, then sighed turning back to face Kevin and Joe.

"What was that all about?" Joe asked.

The blonde shrugged, "Nick can't even get threw to her.." But already Stella was coming up with a plan to talk to Macy, face to face.

Macy sighed and fought back the tears when she was able to stop in a deserted hall way and lean back on the lockers. She closed her burning eyes, but saw Nick's pain in his eyes as she denied even him assess to her wrecked life. All she had to do was make it threw the day without talking to anyone… easier said than done.

She was able to dodge them, remembering threw paths in between classes. All until fourth hour, where she had gym with Stella. She winced, trying hard to think of a way to get out of it but failing. The bell rung and she was purposely lingering in the hallway a little bit longer; trying to time it right when all the other girls were dressed and in the gym.

Macy slowly opened the wooden, creaky girls' locker room door and peeked her head in; looking around and seeing no one. She opened the door wider to let herself in, and tip toed her way to her locker, constantly looking over her shoulder. She had a pair basket ball shorts that were huge on her, and would cover most of the marks on her lefts, and she had a baseball tee she could wear to cover the marks on her arms. She opened her locker swiftly, and stripped off her shirt, but winced at the pain of ripping one open.

"Ow.." She bit her lip to prevent the cussing, and she started digging around her locker for the shirt, "Where is it?.." She whispered to herself.

"Oh my God…"

Macy gasped and straightened her poster, trying to cover herself, but knowing it was all to late. Stella stood at the end of the line of lockers, eyes wide and watering, and mouth open.

She rushed over to Macy, "Macy, what happened?" Her eyes were looking at all the cuts and scratched, "Macy, oh my God." She covered her mouth, then her eyes meet back up with Macy's, who wasn't surprisingly making eye contact, and remaining quiet.

Which caused Stella to come to another conclusion, "… you didn't, did you?"

"No!" Macy replied quickly, "No, of course I didn't."

"Macy.." Stella pleaded, "What happened?"

Macy looked down again, her voice defeated , "I.. I can't tell you."

"Macy, yes you can."

She bit her lip, and looked back up, she couldn't afford to have her friends think she was insane too, "The cat we have went crazy."

_A pathetic lie Macy Misa. _

_Macy gasped and looked around for the source of the voice, "What?" She asked it, still looking around. _

_Stella looked at her, growing more worried, "Macy what are you talking about?" _

"_You didn't hear him?"_

"_Hear who?"_

_Macy just stared at her… maybe she was going crazy. _


	3. Chapter 3 twisted with fear

**Thanks for all the lovely words. ****J They inspire me soo much! I know I should space out my timing in between when I update… but this story is so fun!… would spacing it out be a good idea? Haha, anyways, here's the thirds installment to the story. J**

Macy's breathing picked up as she looked around the room, her range of sight limited by the lockers. Then she quickly threw on her shirt in case they needed to run.

"Macy?" Stella stepped closer, then her voice went soft as Macy's face twisted with terror "Macy, you need to calm down."

Macy took a small step back, so her back was facing the locker, and nearly touching it, but she didn't want to hurt the scratches.

_No… No. This wasn't right. She wasn't in her house anymore, so it shouldn't be happening. It he lived in her house, so it had to stay in her house… right? Then her heart stopped once she realized it. If it did follow her here… she slowly looked at Stella, right into those memorable brown eyes. If it was in the locker room, Stella was in danger. _

_And as if on cue, a huge black mass started to appear right behind Stella. A tall bulky shadow of a man was slowly forming, an arm around Stella, but she didn't seem to notice it. The black mist thickly oozing from his presence. _

_For a minute, Macy couldn't breath, but them Stella's eyes widen, and she placed her hand on her chest, "I.. I can't breath."_

_With a sudden burst of courage and love, Macy grabbed Stella's wrist and pulled he away from him. _

"_Macy!" Stella gasped in surprise, and Macy stood protectively in front of her, scared and determined. She knew she was doing exactly what it wanted, it wanted her to interact with it and it had finally found her weak spot… her friends. _

"_Macy what has gotten into you?" Stella nearly shrieked, attempting to turn Macy around, but she was nearly immovable, and Stella tried to look at Macy's face, but saw her eyes fixed, and glaring hard into another pair, but when she looked to where Macy was looking, she saw no one. _

_It was jut standing there, with his head hanging down. He was solid, and the blackness was like a thick mist around him, and it was slowly creeping its way toward the girls and Macy took a step back, making Stella back up too. Macy didn't dare to take her eyes off of him, she didn't like how still he was. _

"_Macy.." Stella whispered with fear, "Macy what are you looking at?" Stella tried to desperately see what Macy was. _

_It drew in a large, raspy jagged breath, "Macy…" It said as it breathed out, and her muscles tensed and Stella grabbed a handful of Macy's shirt with wide eyes. "..Misa.."_

_Stella couldn't breath, "What. Was. That?" She was able to choke out. _

_Macy looked over her should at Stella, "You heard him?"_

"_Him?" Stella exclaimed, "There's a guy in the bathroom?"_

_Macy looked back and the man took a step forward, and no longer wanting her best friend being in danger, Macy turned to Stella, "Run. We have to run!" _

"_Where? From what?" Stella stammered as she turned around and rushed around the corner with Macy in tow. _

_Macy knew it was planning something._

"_Into the hallway." Macy also knew it was feeding off the shadows that were being cast by the lockers. _

_Macy nearly tripped on her two feet as Stella also stumbled in the small space that made running awkward. Macy helped Stella get back to her feet, but then suddenly, her foot was yanked out from underneath her. She slammed down against the floor with a thud and it knocked the air out of her. _

_Stella stopped and looked back, "Macy!" She went to reach and help her back up, only she started sliding backwards, "Macy?" Then she looked further back and it looked like something invisible was dragging Macy's foot. _

"_Stella!" Macy gasped, trying to reach for something to stop herself. _

"_M-Macy.." Stella said breathlessly, having no idea what was going on. Her knees buckled and she nearly fell over; not knowing what to do. _

_Macy was gasping for air, trying to catch her breath back. And that's when Stella jumped up and drove to grab Macy's hand. They both grabbed each other frantically, only have one chance at it. Stella clasped her hand around Macy's wrist and Macy did the same, then both of the girls grabbed with their other hands. That's when Stella felt the force of something pull on Macy._

"_Oh my God." She whispered breathlessly, unable to believe the fact something had a hold of Macy that couldn't be seen. _

_:"Just don't let go Stella." The strength was heard in her voice, along with something Stella didn't understand, the horror, like she was scared for her life; which made Stella even more scared. Macy finally looked up and meet eyes with Stella; and the blonde was astonished to see the leaking tears down her best friend's face. The face of the girl who hasn't cried since her she was four, even when she broke her left or sprained her ankle. Not even when her and Nick got into a heated argument. Not even when she was attacked by a dog. _

_And right now her eyes screamed that she was absolutely petrified. Letting her down was not even an option. _

"_I will never." Stella spoke threw her teeth as she began to pull Macy, putting her feet against the bench in between the walls of lockers. The love for Macy somehow made her stronger, then suddenly Macy was released sending the two slipping a little ways. _

"_Go go! Stella the door!" Macy demanded hoarsely, already getting to her feet, picking Stella up by the arms. _

_Stumbling, the stylist was able to get to her feet, with Macy pushed her towards the door. With their lives depending on it, the girls ran for the door. Macy glanced around to find him, and he appeared in the corner closest to the door, the direction Stella was running. He held his arms up slowly, towering, ready.. Hungry._

"_No! Stella!" Macy cried, grabbing Stella's arms and yanking her backwards, turning on her heels and throwing her behind her. _

_Stella was thrown to the floor violently, then she turned to Macy in bewilderment, "What?" She hissed, but Macy had her back to her. _

"_Take me. Not her." It was heard in her voice that she was crying. _

_Stella couldn't bring herself to believe it. "Mac…" Her voice died out, when Macy started to making choking noises; like she was struggling for air. _

"_Macy?" She got to her feet, and was about to run for her.. Only she stopped in her tracks as Macy began to stand on her tip toes, without meaning too. And Stella could only watch as her feet came off the around; her breathing in small gasps. "M-Macy?"_

"…_run." Was just barely heard cross Macy's lips. _

_With tears in her eyes, Stella was frozen to the ground. Her eyes glanced at the door, but Macy was getting higher into the air. A grunt left Macy as she suddenly flew a little ways and slide across the floor, sliding into the opposite wall hard. _

"_Macy!" Stella began to run toward her friend, noticing a large black, hardly visible mark in the corner of the room, but ignored it. _

"_Stella!" Macy tried to warn in between cough for air._

_Stella heard enormous footsteps coming from behind her, shaking the floor as she approached Macy, who saw the monster charging their way. And as she took in a ragged breath threw her raw throat, it raised it's hand, coming closer to the innocent, naïve Stella. And before Macy was able to do anything, the man grabbed Stella by the arms. _

"_Stella!" Macy screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to climb to her feet, but before Macy was able to do anything, or Stella was even to realize what was happening, she was thrown across the room and directly into a row of lockers, then falling to the ground. _

_Macy's eyes widen, as she stared, waiting for her to move. She never did, "Oh my God…" She whispered, "Stella?" She went to take a step forward, but a pain shot up her left leg, taking her to the ground. Macy knew she wasn't able to walk so she crawled her way as fast as she could to her unconscious friend. Tears left her eyes instantly, there was a cut on Stella's forehead, and her eyes looked to delicately closed. "Stella?" Her voice was trembling as bad as her hands as she cautiously reached out and touched her face._

_When Stella's eyes didn't open, another powerful emotion flooded Macy's system. Anger. Rage. Hate. Violent. _

"_What do you want?" Macy nearly hollered, "If you want my soul, take it!" She pleaded threw her gritted teeth, "If you want me dead, kill me. Just leave them out of this." _

_It wasn't moving, and that irritated Macy. _

"_What are you waiting for? Huh? I said do it! Whatever you want from me, take it already!" She hollered, glaring. _

"_It's something.." It breathed out, "That you don't…" It took in a slow, ragged, pain breathed, "you have yet.."_

"_What?" She squinted her eyes, and then suddenly her arms felt like it was on fire. In an instant she was pulled to her feet, pain coursing threw her system because of whatever was wrong with her leg. She struggled to get out of it's grip, and then it tossed her carelessly away from Stella._

_The last thing Macy saw was the shadow man looking down at Macy, and she could have sworn she smell something burning, before everything blurred out into blackness_


	4. Chapter 4 Stranger In The Mirror

**So.. Uh.. First of all: YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. Kay? Kay. Just making sure you remember. 600+ readers in like what? Three, four days? Pfft, again. You guys are awesome and inspire me greatly. Thank you for reading, and all the motivating reviews. But yes, yes, sorry for making you read my rambling, maybe I should put these at the bottom from now on? Anyways! Enjoy. (: Ps. Anyone know a way I can fix the not meant italicized-ness of the last chapter? Kay. Thanks. Bye. Pss. Sorry for the wait, I get distracted way to easily. Thanks for waiting! **

"No.." Macy muttered; flames just barely visible behind her closed eyes. It was all around her, she could feel the heat and she knew she needed to get away. But then she remembered where she really was, "St-stella!" She gasped, finding little to almost no energy to open her eyes, but Macy was determined to protect her best friend, no matter what.

"Stella." She murmured louder, able to slightly open her eyes. There were blurs of white, dull colors and a monitor gaining momentum with the way it was beeping. There was something wrapped around her, some kind of pressure. She started moving quicker to try and free herself. Then threw the distorted vision of her squinted eyes, she saw the shadow man reaching down to her.

"No!" Macy screamed, trying her hardest to move away, "Stay away from me!" She pushed him backwards, and she ended up tumbling out of the bed she was apparently in, dragging down machinery. There was a sharp pain on the inside of her elbow. Her eyes looked to the source with her blurry vision and she saw blood starting to spill.

"Macy!"

She jumped, and crawled backwards, until her body was against the wall and she felt hidden behind the bed and the wall. Her breathing was quickened, and her heart was pounding in her chest; holding her arms in front of her face to protect herself.

There were a few moments of silence, and Macy had tensed her body up; waiting for impact. Very slowly, with trembling arms, she dared to slowly open on eye.

"Macy…" Nick's voice came softly to Macy's ears, suddenly setting her reality.

Suddenly everything was clear, as her eyes locked with Nick's warm, concerned brown ones. Then fearfully, she looked around; trying to identify her surroundings.

"W-where…?" There were to many racing thoughts for her to complete a sentence.

Nick slowly moved closer to her, kneeling in front of her and placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "Macy." He said firmly, but softly. Her eyes still glancing around the room, and he saw the confusion in here eyes instead of the hardness meant to keep people out. It also seemed like she was looking for somebody.

"Macy, you're in the hospital." He explained calmly, waiting and preparing for her reaction, "Do you remember anything?"

She met eyes with him, it didn't make sense to her. When did she get here? She was just in the locker room, "St-stella." She gasped, her eyes widening at the state she had last seen her best friend in, "Stella? Where's Stella?"

She ignored how weak her legs were as she stood up, and wobbles a little bit. Nick's quietness made Macy unease. Then she looked around, and saw the machinery she had pulled down when she scrambled out of the bed, and a light stinging came alive in her elbow. She looked down and seen a few drops of blood spilling from where she was guessing the needles were ripped out.

"Nick." She said sternly, "Stella's room number" Was all she asked for, the pleas in Macy's eyes made Nick unable to resist answering her.

"258, down the hall." He replied quietly, and as soon as Macy heard it, she took off toward the door and straight into the hallway.

She immediately noticed all the eyes that were upon her, and she just looked down. No eye contact, no worries. Macy glanced upward and read a room sign that said 300, and a sigh escaped her lungs as she looked up down the hall; toward Stella's room and for some reason, it looked longer than it should have. The light at the end of the hall flickered, and briefly she saw a form, and she froze.

It was gone, but her eyes still searched for it. "No.." She murmured, she was certain there was no way he… _it.. could've been there. But then again it was in the locker room, at the school. Then a gut wrenching question came to her mind, how many people were in danger because of her?_

_Then she forced herself to continue onward, towards Stella Malone's room. The tiled floor seeming biting cold against her naked feet. She held her breath and stopped for a minute outside of Stella's room door, because of nerves. A few deep breaths later, Macy was able to forced herself in, and lay eyes upon the unconscious Stella. _

"_Oh my god.." Macy covered her mouth and felt her heart begin to pound, and the tears began to flood her eyes. She felt completely responsible for Stella's condition. Macy rushed to Stella's side, her legs beginning to shake slightly, and tears blurring her vision. She felt like she finally had enough, now that this thing knew who her friends were, and it now knew how to make her really hurt but the physical pain wasn't phasing her. _

"_Oh Stella…" Macy whispered, running her fingers threw the blonde hair of her best friend and then sniffling as tears landed on Stella's blanket, "I'm so sorry I drug you into this… this is all my fault." Macy was ready to break down and start bawling, she was ready to beg the shadow man to take her life already. Macy Misa was actually ready to… give up. _

"_Macy?" _

_She wiped her face dry and looked over her shoulder to see Nicolas standing in the door way, and didn't say a word and turned back to face Stella, moving some hair from her face. His footsteps were heard as he walked up behind her, and she tried her best not to cry but she felt her reality beginning to spin out of control. _

_He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and surprisingly she didn't flinch to his touch. He saw the shining tear stains on her cheek, and the way she held her hands to her chest told him she didn't feel safe, so we quickly removed his hands. Then his question resurfaced to his mind. _

_He drew in a deep breath, his eyes fixing themselves upon Stella, "I heard what you were saying about.. 'How you drug her into this'…"_

_She winced, and she knew she had been caught. Her eyes cast themselves downward, and she gripped onto Stella's bed ramp as she felt like she was about to tip backwards, like hands where gripping her shoulders, and she couldn't help but surrender to it,. _

"_Macy-" Nick's voice made Macy's eyes snap open, and suddenly she remember where she was exactly. "If there is something going on, that we need to get the police involved then now's the time to tell them."_

"_No." Macy was just able to comprehend what his words meant, they meant telling them about the shadow man, and she couldn't go to them without proof, and Stella was her proof. _

_And Nick was able to sense there was something bigger going on, something more to what Macy wasn't telling him. He followed her eyes to Stella's face and decided it was best to leave the subject alone for now, Macy was distant enough as it was. _

"_You know… She was awake this afternoon."_

_Macy eyes immediately darted toward him, there was something she didn't like in his voice, the solemn tone, and Nick meet eyes with her. Instantly he noticed the hardness, and almost… evil look to her glare. _

"_She doesn't remember much."_

_Macy's eyes widen the moment the words came from Nick's mouth, and softened with some weakness. Now Macy felt like she really did need the support of Stella's bed rail, from fainting. Her evidence was gone. And suddenly she felt alone again. The world was a cold place once again. _

"_Oh thank goodness." Came a soft relieved voice from the doorway, Macy didn't bother looking to see who it was. Nick on the other hand was relieved to not have to deal with Macy alone… as horrible was it sounded. _

_It was Macy's nurse, "Macy Misa, you scared the living daylights out of me, I had no idea where you were."_

"_Day light!" Macy exclaimed under her breath, her eyes widening. The only way to make sure Stella kept safe was if the shadows didn't touch her. Macy rushed to the other side of the room and pushed the blinds wide open, making the bright sunlight flood the room. Her eyes scanned the room for heavily dark areas; ignoring the confusion on the nurse's and Nick's face. Macy rushed into the bathroom and turned the light on. _

_She stopped moving when she meet eyes with her own reflection. Her hand slowly raised and her fingertips pressed slightly against the cold exterior, for the girl on the other side looked nothing like herself. The pale skin, heavy dark spots under her eyes, wild hair, cold dark eyes and scratches here and there. _

"_That's not me." She blurted, no one but Nick heard her, then Macy put her other hand up against the mirror, eyes still fixed with the stranger's in the mirror. _

"_There still hasn't been a link to who attacked these two girls yet." Came a heavy, solid deep voice from the room, and Macy slowly stepped out to see a police officer, "Is the doctor around?" His eyes flashed to Macy then back to the nurse's._

_Macy's heart stopped, and she gulped, "You think…Someone.." Macy couldn't even finish her sentence, her mind and heart were spinning fast, her body becoming more tensed with anger as she stared at them in disbelief. "You think someone attacked us?" _

_Two curious male nurses, twice the size of Macy poked their heads into the room, "Is everything okay here?"_

_The officer, and everyone else in the room was able to sense her tension. She was stunned for some reason, they didn't understand it. They were thinking something totally different, something that wouldn't lead them to the right track, and for the first time she was able to mentally admit, she wanted their help to save her. _

_The doctor walked in quickly, obvious to the anger felt by Macy. And she immediately addressed him._

"_Th-that's not what happened!" Macy hollered, the angry slowly become uncontrollably to her. "You didn't see anyone enter the locker room on the security cameras, so why would you still believe someone attacked us?" She couldn't believe it, "Have you seen the bruise on Stella's arm! How can that be made by another human being?" Macy looked at everyone in the room, desperately trying to get them to believe, but no one made eye contact. _

_Nick looked down, as the doctor was trying to find something to say. He looked up, catching the doctor's attention, "How do you explain the burns on Macy? And all of the marks?"_

_Macy's heart skipped._

"_Zip it young man." The police officer snapped at him._

_That hit a sore spot in Macy, the emotions swelled up inside her to see the officer snap at Nick, the boy she loved. The boy that has been by her side no matter how hard she'd been trying to push them away. _

"_You can't explain it! Can you?" She yelled at the doctor, her voice echoing off the walls of the hospital, "CAN YOU?" She took a step forward and the police officer stepped in front of the doctor like he was protecting him, which only provoked this new, more violent behavior in Macy. She jumped toward the doctor and the officer moved to grab Macy, which knocked Nick over in the commotion. _

"_Let me go!" Macy growled, twisting trying to get out of the officer's grip; tears falling down her face. "You guys don't understand! No one understands! He's here! He's in the building…" She began sobbing, "He's coming to get me.."_

_Nick could only stare up at the girl he loved as she began crying, something he had never seen from her. It gave him chills, and made his heart pound in his chest. It also told him she was telling the truth. He couldn't help but believe her…_


	5. Chapter 5 call later

_**Lovely Readers; I am so sorry, this chapter may have been a disappointment. Sadface. I don't believe there are words to explain the amount of guilt it brings me; I promise, once again, to try my hardest to keep this story alive. Life just seems to be getting in the way one to many times. As for now, I hope you enjoy this. I promise another chapter by next weekend. **_

Macy sat in her hospital bed; after nearly an hour of trying to convince them they were wrong, she gave up. The lights in her room were turned off, because the meds she was giving were supposed to help her back to sleep but instead she had slipped them under her tongue and when the nursed turned to grab a cup of water Macy spit them out into her hand then when the nurse left she flushed them down the toilet.

Macy had caught some of the words that one of the nurses has said about her in hall outside her room, "..post traumatic-stress." She looked down at her crossed legs, they didn't believe her, they believed it was all in her head. Images of Stella's terror flashed across her mind, the shadow man could smell it and he now knew that Macy had a weakness. Helplessness engulfed the empty space in Macy's chest, how the hell was she supposed to get this thing away from, if not her, her friends.

"Mace..?" Nick called from the door way, his warm brown eyes gazing at her; the scratches on her face were sort of like tugs on his heart strings. Whether someone really did attack his two best friends, or Macy was telling the truth, he felt like he leaned more to Macy's story. Their school had one of the best security systems, especially since the member of JONAS started attending.

Her solid brown eyes moved to meet with his; the helplessness was written all over her face. She didn't say a word, just looked away again. Something inside of Nick pulled him toward the beautiful girl, and his feet obeyed. He found himself sitting on the edge of her bed, his eyes seemed to be glued to her as if searching for a clue; as if he was going to miss something important; as if he was going to miss the smile he missed so much. Being around her once gave him strength, this unforeseen courage and happiness but now it all seemed drained because there was something he needed to figure out, he knew he had to help her out of this. Truth or not, he was determined to help her.

"So… You said this.. 'shadow man' attacked you guys?" His voice was low, it might have been because it was dark in the room, or because she seemed to delicate in this state.

His words pulled at her attention immediately. With wide, unsure eyes she meet eyes with him, then nodded. "Yeah." Her voice sounding raspy from the amount of yelling hours ago. Did he believe her?

There was no mistaking the honesty in her words, her eyes screamed for him to believe her but all she did was keep quiet and gulp.

Nick nodded, finally feeling connected with her again. "Well, I believe you." He whispered bravely.

For the first time in weeks, Macy had the urge to smile but then a horrible thought struck her. Would Nick be in more danger if he knew?

"The doctors said you'd be sleeping for the night." Nick soft voice changed the subject, his eyes still focused on her and only her.

She smirked with slight triumph, "Like hell I'm going to let them fed me pills."

His hand found her's which were unbelievably cold, and Macy gasped lightly at the unexpected touched; looking up in Nick's eyes once again. "You know Macy, I'm _always h_ere for you. I care about you way to much to see you go threw something like this." Even his words had taken her off guard.

Distancing herself from her friends had made her forget those feelings for Nick; how amazing he was, and how great he was to her. Being alone for so long made her not want to let go of Nick's presences. By just the way he was looking at her, she felt a strength she hadn't felt in a while. "Thank you." spilled quietly from her mouth, her eyes begin to moisten as Nick broke threw the barrier she had built to keep so many people out. Nick scooted his body closer to hers then wrapped his arms around her small frame in a hug, he wasn't sure she'd accept. For the first few minutes she was perfectly still, but the overwhelming sense of safety swept her off her feet and slowly she hugged him back.

A little while later a nurse had caught Nick in her room and scolded him because it was after visiting hours. Nick waved goodbye, unwilling to leave her alone. Once again Macy sat alone in the dark room; her eyes darting toward every movement she saw, preparing herself incase it attacked again. This night was silent besides other patients and nurses rushing around. Again, Macy's heart sank at the thought of Stella unconscious in her room. The pained, pale face of Joe as he watched Stella with eyes waiting for her to wake up. And it was her fault.

She was startled awake when a tray of breakfast was noisily placed on the table beside her bed. Macy looked around, worried she was going to find something horribly different since falling into the dreamless sleep. Her eyes meet with the nurse's, this nurse was a younger blonde in pink scrubs and a friendly smile.

"Ms. Misa, you have four visitor's in the waiting room. Would you like me to send them up?" Even her voice was friendly.

Macy's heart was beginning to slow, then she nodded feebly, "Yes please."

Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Nick and Kevin entered the room minutes later. Each of them with worried expression, and greeted her with good mornings and asking how she felt.

Mrs. Lucas then took in a deep breath, "Macy, your parents are trying hard to get back into the State but every flight they get seems to get cancelled, so until then I had told that you're welcomed to stay at our house."

No matter how much Macy tried to decline they all gave her reasons to accept, not taking no for an answer. Macy was discharged from the hospital that afternoon, and sitting between Nick and Kevin in the backseat of their car.

"Big Rob went to grab your clothes for you." Mr. Lucas informed Macy while glancing at her threw the rearview mirror.

Instantly her eyes look back at his, "Have you heard from him since?" Alarm was evident in her voice.

"He should be back at the house waiting for us." Nick spoke softly to her, reassuring her with a light touch on her arm. Her mind whirled with numerous, horrible possibilities. Big Rob in her house alone? where the monster lived?

She tried to remain calm as they walked toward the firehouse; her heart picking up speed. Nick seemed to be the only one to catch this even more unusually behavior. Macy closed her eyes and prayed Big Rob would be waiting, unharmed, unfrightened and untouched by anything inside her house of horror; upon opening her eyes again she was struck with a dizziness and staggered a little. Nick gave her a worried glance but she avoided eye contact and continued up the driveway.

To her relief Big Rob was sitting on the couch as soon as they walked in, but the expression on his face looked exasperated causing Macy's stomach to plummet.

"What happened?" She blurted before anyone else could speak, a whole mix of fear and other emotions swarmed around her head.

Rob looked up as everyone else gather around him, "Macy." He paused, looking a bit regretful, "I think someone broke into your house. Everything's thrown apart, there were only a few pieces of your clothes that I could find that weren't shredded. I had to call the police, you're house is a wreck."

Macy's skin went fridge, was the Shadow Man angry that she was no longer staying there at night? Her mind screamed at her to run, but when Nick's hand grasped her's gently she knew there was no hope.


End file.
